-The Hindu Rs. 3,000 crore for the North-East alone; fillip to PM's rural scheme The Union Budget 2014 has given importance to fast-tracking highways and improving the road infrastructure to augment the nation's arterial network. "The sector had taken shape between 1998 and 2004 under NDA-I. The sector again needs huge amount of investment," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while tabling the Budget. "I propose investment in National Highways Authority of India and...
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Why Delhi needs to step back -Lant Pritchett and Gulzar Natarajan
-The Indian Express Most of the dynamism of the Indian economy comes from its states. They must be given more room to chart their growth trajectories In the euphoria surrounding the election results, it is tempting to avoid facing up to the harsh realities of making development happen. Even for those who characterise the election as "the dawn after the dusk", in the new light of day, India's development challenges remain essentially...
More »Independence from the government -Swagata Raha and Archana Mehendale
-The Hindu Although meant to function as watchdogs, human rights institutions in India are treated as subordinate departments with scant regard for their autonomy or statutory character A change in the occupancy of 7, Race Course Road, is spelling change in the composition of statutory bodies in India. With the Governors of various States, the office-bearers of the National Disaster Management Authority and the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of...
More »Despite record onion yield, prices shoot up -Subodh Varma
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: There has to be something drastically wrong somewhere when onion prices start rising just after the largest ever harvest of onions. In 2013-14, India harvested 19.3 million metric tons of onions. That's 15% more than the previous year. This is not the final figure: it is the latest estimates put out by the agriculture ministry and may go up or down by a couple of...
More »Agriculture ministry readies plan to deal with poor monsoon -Vishwa Mohan & Dipak Kumar Dash
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is ready with a contingency plan to deal with below normal rains this monsoon with a series of steps including diesel subsidy for farmers in the rain-deficient districts, crop loans at lower rates and release of foodgrains to deal with a possible shortage. Amid reports of below normal rains, the agriculture ministry presented the plan for 500 districts during a meeting called by Prime...
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